Nestled at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, Armenia is a small, resilient country. Markers of its complex history punctuate the rugged landscapes: highland slopes sprinkled with thousands of petroglyphs, fortress-like churches from the earliest days of Christianity, and skeletons of enormous Soviet-era factories. Twentieth-century Armenia has been characterized by massive displacement caused by conflict and shifting borders, resulting in one of the world's largest diaspora populations.
It is the Armenian population of the diaspora which is celebrated at the 2018 Folklife Festival program Armenia: Creating Home. Included in the program are two case studies which offer a glimpse into Armenian culture, a culture greatly influenced by its surroundings, heritage, and an ongoing dialogue with its many diasporas. Both the foodways presentations and the artisan craft traditions highlight the importance of economic and cultural sustainability in the face of change. It is these practices which create home—both in concept and in form.
The exuberant hospitality of Armenian cooking, eating, and drinking is a source of great cultural pride. Both the established traditions of feasting as well as innovative cooking techniques continue to energize the Armenian food scene and engage outsiders. During the Folklife Festival, Armenian cooks taught visitors how to create the essential components of a feast: baking lavash flatbread in tonirs (wood-fired ovens), making traditional cheeses, and grilling khorovats (skewered meats). Winemakers demonstrated both traditional production methods as well as new techniques to create Armenian wines, including cultivation of ancient varietals, the aging of wine in karas (large clay urns), and a pioneering winery incubator model to encourage the growth of small labels. In discussion groups, cooks and winemakers shared their experiences with traditional recipes and the ways in which foodways and wine-related enterprises shape their cultural identity and create a pathway for exchange—both within Armenia's boundaries and across the diaspora communities.
Music and dance are another integral part of these festivities, including both traditional folk songs and the introduction of jazz. The combination of these two traditions is evident in contemporary music; the collaboration between Armenian and diasporan Armenian musicians resonates with the exchange and influence of diverse musical experiences.
The revitalization of Armenian craft was highlighted in the artisan craft traditions showcased at the Festival, where the intersection of technology and handmade traditions became visible. Working in clay, fabric, metal, stone, and wood, skilled craftspeople incorporated memory and experience into pottery and tonirs (clay ovens), knot-tied carpets and needlework arts, window grates and fences, khachkars (carved cross stones), wood carvings, and jewelry. Visual artists and artisans built interactive installations, juxtaposing tradition and innovation. Discussion sessions explored the function of craft, not only for its utilitarian and economic value, but as a continually evolving cultural expression using tangible objects to craft meaning for their unique way of life.
Particularly in periods of marked change and shifting populations throughout Armenia's history, each of these traditions has been a life-affirming testament to the longstanding power of social and cultural life. From the physical production of food and craft for everyday use to the memories and emotions these traditions convey, the program challenges visitors to explore their own notions of home while experiencing distinctive features of Armenian culture.
Armenia program partners included the Government of the Republic of Armenia, the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography in the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, the My Armenia Cultural Heritage Tourism Program, funded by USAID and implemented by the Smithsonian Institution, the U.S. Embassy in Armenia, and the Embassy of Armenia to the United States of America.
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 2018 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
The Smithsonian Institution Festival of American Folklife, held annually since 1967 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1998. The materials collected here document the planning, production, and execution of the annual Festival, produced by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (1999-present) and its predecessor offices (1967-1999). An overview of the entire Festival records group is available here: Smithsonian Folklife Festival records.
Scope and Contents note:
This collection documents the planning, production, and execution of the 2016 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Materials may include photographs, audio recordings, motion picture film and video recordings, notes, production drawings, contracts, memoranda, correspondence, informational materials, publications, and ephemera. Such materials were created during the Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., as well as in the featured communities, before or after the Festival itself.
Arrangement note:
Arranged in 5 series.
Missing Title
Series 1: Program Books, Festival Publications, and Ephemera
Series 2: Basque: Innovation by Culture
Series 3: On the Move: Migration and Immigration Today
Series 4: Sounds of California
Series 5: Special Events
Historical note:
The Festival of American Folklife, held annually since 1967 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in 1998.
The 2016 Smithsonian Folklife Festival was produced by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and cosponsored by the National Park Service.
For more information, see Smithsonian Folklife Festival records.
Introduction:
The 2016 Folklife Festival celebrated resilient communities around the world. Visitors could discover how the Basque country sustains culture, drawing on traditions to innovate in a rapidly changing world. Audiences could learn renowned cooking techniques and phrases in the Euskara language, experience bertsolaritza poetry competitions and stone-lifting matches, or drink a refreshing glass of cider or rioja wine and meet master artisans. In the other main program, visitors were invited to explore the Sounds of California through the music and stories of communities shaping the diverse state, and to interact with artists in music workshops or stretch out on the lawn for an evening concert series.
In 2016, the Festival was located on the National Mall between 4th and 7th streets, and between Madison Drive and Jefferson Drive, just north of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum (see site plan). The Festival Marketplace was inside the Arts and Industries Building. Most music and dance performances took place in the Musika eta Dantza Etxea, Frontoia, Sounds of California Stage & Plaza, and indoors at the Arts and Industries Building Stage. Evening concerts were held at the Ralph Rinzler Concert Stage, along 4th Street. The 2016 Festival took place for two five-day weeks (June 29-July 4 and July 7-10) and featured three programs and special events including the Rinzler Concert.
The 2016 guide included participant lists for each program, a site plan, and daily schedules.
The Festival was co-presented by the Smithsonian Institution and National Park Service and organized by the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.
Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
Michael Mason, Director; Robert Leopold, Deputy Director for Research and Collections; Smithsonian Folklife Festival: Sabrina Lynn Motley, Festival Director
Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Advisory Council
Ellen McCulloch-Lovell, Chair; Cathy Sulzberger, Co-Chair; Bill Ivey, Dawn McCall, Susan Norton, Anna Maria Ochoa, George Papagiannis, Frederik Paulsen, Jennifer Cover Payne, Ann Elizabeth Sheffer, Deborah Wong, Council Members; Libby O'Connell, J. Scott Raecker, Honorary; Patricia Shehan-Campbell, Ex officio
The Festival was supported by federally appropriated funds; Smithsonian trust funds; contributions from governments, businesses, foundations, and individuals; in-kind assistance; and food, recording, and craft sales. Promotional support was provided by Dulles International and Reagan National Airports, Comcast, Captivate Network, Telemundo Washington DC, WAMU 88.5, Destination DC, BrightestYoungThings.com, The Washington Informer, El Tiempo Hispano (MD-DE-PA), Latin Opinion Baltimore Newspaper, ettractions.com, El Tiempo Latino, Digital Conventions, WeekendBestBets.com, National Museum of African American History and Culture, and Kepa Junkera. In-kind program and technical support came from Audio Event Services, The Art League, Blacksmiths' Guild of the Potomac, Chem-Trend, Destaco, Tech Shop DC, and Target (Glen Burnie, Rockville, Ellicott City).
Shared Stewardship of Collections:
The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage acknowledges and respects the right of artists, performers, Folklife Festival participants, community-based scholars, and knowledge-keepers to collaboratively steward representations of themselves and their intangible cultural heritage in media produced, curated, and distributed by the Center. Making this collection accessible to the public is an ongoing process grounded in the Center's commitment to connecting living people and cultures to the materials this collection represents. To view the Center's full shared stewardship policy, which defines our protocols for addressing collections-related inquiries and concerns, please visit https://doi.org/10.25573/data.21771155.
Forms Part Of:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 2016 Smithsonian Folklife Festival forms part of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival records .
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: Papers
1967 Festival of American Folklife records - [Ongoing]
Related Archival Materials note:
Within the Rinzler Archives, related materials may be found in various collections such as the Ralph Rinzler papers and recordings, the Lily Spandorf drawings, the Diana Davies photographs, the Robert Yellin photographs, and the Curatorial Research, Programs, and Projects collection. Additional relevant materials may also be found in the Smithsonian Institution Archives concerning the Division of Performing Arts (1966-1983), Folklife Program (1977-1980), Office of Folklife Programs (1980-1991), Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies (1991-1999), Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (1999-present), and collaborating Smithsonian units, as well as in the administrative papers of key figures such as the Secretary and respective deputies. Users are encouraged to consult relevant finding aids and to contact Archives staff for further information.
Restrictions:
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
An interview of L. Brent Kington conducted 2001 May 3-4, by Mary Douglas, for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America, in Kington's home and studio, Makando, Illinois.
Kington describes his childhood and the impact of the Depression; his adopted sister Kay; and his hyperactivity and difficulty accomplishing schoolwork. He comments on his high school teachers; his academic and athletic accomplishments at University of Kansas (UK); his studies at Cranbrook Academy of Art with Richard (Dick) Thomas "the intellectual silversmith" and his "mentor"; Hugh Acton and the GM Tech Center; and fellow metalsmiths Fred Fenster, Mike Jerry, Stanley Lechtzin, and Heikki Seppä.
He discusses exhibitions including "Kansas Designer Craftsmen," "Michigan Designer Craftsmen," "Fiber, Clay, Metal," "Creative Casting, Young Americans 1962," and "Objects: USA." He talks about Ashanti gold weights; Scandinavian design; teaching at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois (SIU) and Illinois State University (ISU), and taking students to the Saint Louis Art Museum to see granulation in Mycenaean gold. He comments at length on his toys and experimenting with ideas about toys.
Kington also describes blacksmithing workshops held at SIU and the "renaissance" of blacksmithing in the United States. He recalls his involvement with the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG), American Craft Council (ACC), World Crafts Council (WCC), Artist Blacksmith's Association of North America (ABANA), the Kentucky School of Craft, the National Ornamental Metal Museum, and other organizations. He discusses his weathervane pieces and other series such as Icarus, Crozier, Europa, and Axis Mundi. He comments on the influence of Mircea Eliade's book "The Forge and the Crucible" (1979), considers the blacksmith's role in various cultural mythologies, and evaluates publications such as "Anvil's Ring" and "American Blacksmith."
He comments on the current state of affairs in metalsmithing; his retirement from SIU and teaching in the University of Georgia-Cortona program; the impact of Cyril Stanley Smith's insights and the importance of his book "A History of Metallography" (1960); his appreciation of Daryl Meier's work; exploring new techniques such as mokume gane, kuromido, shibuichi, rokusho (patination process); encouraging Mary Lee Hu to pursue wire structuring; and his enthusiasm for sharing information. He recalls John Allgood, Philip Baldwin, Robert Ebendorf, Phil Fike, Maija Grotell, Marvin Jensen, Richard Mawdsley, Lee Nordness, Ron Pearson, Bob Peterson,Gene and Hiroko Pijanowski, Jim Wallace, and others.
Biographical / Historical:
L. Brent Kington (1934-) is a metalsmith from Makanda, Illinois. Mary Douglas (1956-) is a curator at the Mint Museum of Craft and Design in Charlotte, N.C.
General:
Originally recorded on 7 sound cassettes. Reformatted in 2010 as 14 digital wav files. Duration is 6 hr., 54 min.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and administrators.
Topic:
Metal-workers -- Illinois -- Interviews Search this
The papers of influential blacksmith, sculptor, metalsmith and educator, L. Brent Kington, measure 9 linear feet and date from 1944 to 2012. The collection provides a valuable overview of Kington's career through correspondence relating primarily to exhibitions, subject files, drawings, photographs of Kington and his artwork, printed matter and audiovisual material. An additional 5.2 linear feet of papers was accessioned from 2007 to 2012 and remains unprocessed.
Scope and Content Note:
The papers of influential blacksmith, sculptor, metalsmith, and educator, L. Brent Kington, measure 9 linear feet and date from 1944 to 2012. The collection provides a valuable overview of Kington's career through correspondence, subject files, drawings, photographs of Kington and his artwork, printed matter and audiovisual material.
Correspondence in Series 1 relates primarily to exhibitions in the United States at institutions such as the the American Craft Museum, the Evansville Museum of Arts and Science, and the National Ornamental Metal Museum, in which Kington's work was represented.
Kington's education at Cranbrook Academy of Art, his career at Southern Illinois University, his involvement with various professional organizations, his appearances at conferences and workshops, and his relationships with individual galleries, are more fully represented in Series 2: Subject Files.
The collection also includes printed matter, including exhibition announcements and catalogs for group and solo exhibitions in which Kington's work was featured, and publications containing articles about Kington.
Photographs in the collection include images of Kington's artwork and also picture Kington at various stages throughout his career. Audiovisual material includes an oral history interview with Kington from 2001, and two video recordings of a blacksmith workshop and a program entitled Brent Kington: Image of an Artist.
An additional 5.2 linear feet of papers was accessioned from 2007 to 2012 and remains unprocessed.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into six series. Original arrangement has generally been maintained throughout the collection, with some merging of chronological correspondence in Series 1 to facilitate access.
Missing Title
Series 1: Correspondence, 1955-2004, undated (box 1; 0.8 linear ft.)
Series 2: Subject Files, 1956-2005, undated (box 1-3; 1.6 linear ft.)
Series 3: Printed Material, 1952-2003, undated (box 3-4, OV 5; 0.9 linear ft.)
Series 4: Photographs, circa 1944-2001 (box 4; 0.4 linear ft.)
Series 6: Unprocessed Addition to the L. Brent Kington Papers, 1956-2012 (boxes 6-12, OV 13; 5.2 linear ft.)
Biographical Note:
L. Brent Kington was born in Topeka, Kansas, in 1934. He received a BFA from the University of Kansas, Lawrence, in 1957 and an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1961. Kington began his career primarily as a silversmith working with small-scale objects such as jewelry, silverware, and toys, and then became interested in using forged iron to create sculpture. He sought the help and instruction of the few blacksmiths he could find working in a "traditional" style and began working with large-scale sculptures forged in iron and steel, weathervanes, and other kinetic sculpture. Kington's subsequent research, such as his exploration of forge welding techniques of iron and his experimentation with laminated, non-ferrous alloys, constituted an important contribution to the resurgence of traditional blacksmithing and was highly influential in the fields of blacksmithing and metalsmithing in general.
Kington served as Director of the School of Art and Design at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale from 1981 to 1994. He was a lecturer at SIU from 1961 to 1962, assistant professor from 1962 to 1967, associate professor from 1967 to 1972, professor from 1972 to 1996, and is currently professor emeritus. A committed educator and an avid spokesman for the arts, he has been honored many times as a guest lecturer, visiting artist, exhibit juror, workshop demonstrator, and panelist in the United States and abroad. In 1987 he spent a summer in Cortona, Italy as guest professor in the University of Georgia Studies Abroad Program.
Since 1962, Kington's sculpture and metalwork has been shown in more than 350 group and solo exhibitions in museums and galleries throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, Africa, Canada, Mexico, and South America. Over the years Kington has served in various professional organizations. He has been a Trustee of the American Craft Council, Director of the Artist-Blacksmith Association of North America (ABANA), and President of the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG). In 1978 he was elected to the American Craft Council's Academy of Fellows and has been the recipient of two Artist Fellowship grants from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Kington continues to work from his home and studio in Makando, Illinois.
Related Material:
The Archives also has a transcribed interview of L. Brent Kington, conducted May 3-4, 2001 by Mary Douglas for the Archives of American Art's Nanette L. Laitman Documentation Project for Craft and Decorative Arts in America. The interview was conducted in Kington's home and studio in Makando, Illinois.
Provenance:
The collection was donated to the Archives of American Art in installments by L. Brent Kington from 2001 to 2012. Materials donated from 2007 to 2012 remain unprocessed.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research. Use requires an appointment and is limited to the Washington, D.C. research facility.
Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Introduction:
From the soaring skyscrapers of New York City to the adobe churches of New Mexico, from the sturdy stone walls of New England to the majestic monuments of the nation's capital, master craftworkers in the building arts have brought enduring beauty to our built environment. Working in wood, stone, brick, and metal, in plaster, paint, glass, and clay, they transform designs on paper into three-dimensional works of art. Much depends on their workmanship and skill: on their deep understanding of raw materials, their careful selection and use of tools, their mastery of technique. The final product is the result not only of their knowledge and abilities, but also their creativity and care - their will to excellence.
Artisans in the building trades share a deep appreciation for the aesthetic value and expressive power of technical perfection. They delight in skill and find meaning and pleasure in the poetic qualities of workmanship - in their ability to craft objects of beauty and strength through their special touch. Their great pride and creative spirit, their love for their work, and their commitment to excellence are manifested in a lasting legacy of architectural achievement left behind for generations to come.
The 2000 Festival program celebrated the extraordinary artistry of craftspeople in the building arts and explored the many challenges they face today as they work to preserve our nation's past and build for the future. The Festival brought together a selection of master artisans - stone carvers, masons, carpenters, terra cotta artisans, plasterers, blacksmiths, stained glass artisans, and adobe builders - who have enriched our world with the work of their hands, and who educated and informed Festival visitors not only with their skills but also with their knowledge and lore.
Marjorie Hunt was Curator and James Deutsch was Program Coordinator; Betty Belanus was Education Specialist and Family Activity Guide Coordinator. An Advisory Committee included: J. Bryan Blundell, Kurt Dewhurst, William Dupont, Cynthia Field, Henry Glassie, Norman Koonce, Betty Monkman, Peter Nabokov, Joanna Reagan, Rex Scouten, William Seale, Chris Sturbaum, John Michael Vlach, and Ed Worthy.
The program was produced in collaboration with the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers and the International Masonry Institute, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the National Building Museum, the American Institute of Architects, and the Preservation Trades Network. Major funding was provided by Homestore.com, the Marble Institute of America, Allied Stone Industries, the Building Stone Institute, the Indiana Limestone Institute, and the National Building Granite Quarries Association. Major contributors included Target Stores, the Associated General Contractors of America, the National Association of Realtors, and the Smithsonian Women's Committee. Additional donors included the School of the Building Arts, Duron, Inc., the Brick Industry Association, the Laborers' International Union of North America, the Smithsonian Educational Outreach Fund, and the Copper Development Association, Inc.
Researchers:
Jane Beck, Betty Belanus, Ray Brassieur, Amanda Dargan, James Deutsch, Kurt Dewhurst, Karen Duffy, Lynn Martin Graton, Dwight Pauahi Kauahikaua, Winnie Lambrecht, Tim Lloyd, Gregory Sharrow, Gary Stanton, David Taylor, Elaine Thatcher, John Michael Vlach
Presenters:
Betty Belanus, Barry Bergey, Ray Brassieur, Olivia Cadaval, Amanda Dargan, William Dupont, Brian Finnegan, Lynn Martin Graton, Tim Lloyd, Philip "Pete" Pederson, Clift Seferlis, Peter Seitel, Gregory Sharrow, Angelo Simone, Nick Spitzer, Gary Stanton, David Taylor, Elaine Thatcher, Cynthia Vidaurri, John Michael Vlach
Participants:
David Adams, historic preservation specialist, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Robert Alger, stone carver, sculptor, Spencerville, Maryland
Joseph Alonso, stone mason, Vienna, Virginia
Onofre Anguiano, terra cotta hand presser, mold maker, Lincoln, Calif.
Walter S. Arnold, stone carver, Skokie, Illinois
Sam Baca, program director, Cornerstones Community Partnerships, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Earl A. Barthe, 1932-2010, plasterer, historian and consultant, New Orleans, Louisiana
Hurchail Barthe, plasterer, New Orleans, Louisiana
Terry Barthe, plasterer, historic housing specialist, New Orleans, Louisiana
Nick Benson, stone carver, letterer, Newport, Rhode Island
Johan Bjurman, decorative painter, Cheshire, Connecticut
Anna Bowen, stone carver, letterer, Newport, Rhode Island
Tom Weddle, restoration carpenter, Bloomington, Indiana
Bob Wooldridge, slater, Mercersburg, Pennsylvania
Jeff Wooldridge, slater, project manager, Bethesda, Maryland
Bill Yeingst, curator, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Pauli Zmolek, decorative painter, Takoma Park, Maryland
INTERNATIONAL UNION OF BRICKLAYERS AND ALLIED CRAFTWORKERS (BAC), INTERNATIONAL MASONRY INSTITUTE (IMI)
Frank Baiocchi, marble mason, Mt. Airy, Maryland
Ed Bellucci, IMI deputy director of Apprenticeship and Training, Jefferson, Maryland
Robert Bernardon, marble mason, Suitland, Maryland
Lewis Carrara, mosaic worker, Fortville, Indiana
Raoul Cervantes, bricklayer, Claremont, California
Kurt Colo, bricklayer, New Baltimore, Michigan
Laird Donaldson, IMI regional director, Auburn, Washington
James Farris, stone mason, Stafford, Virginia
Richard Francescon, marble mason, South Easton, Massachusetts
Greg Hartseil, IMI Job Corps regional director, Lorida, Florida
Dennis Holloway, IMI Scola Training Center director, West Babylon, New York
Mike Kassman, IMI pointing, cleaning, and caulking instructor, Waynesboro, Pennsylvania
Tony Kassman, IMI National Safety, pointing, cleaning, and caulking coordinator, Tonawanda, New York
John Kitchen, bricklayer apprentice, Dryden, New York
Frank Koletar, refractory bricklayer, Orchard Park, New York
Annette Ludwig, tile layer, Bellevue, Washington
Nelson McMath, BAC Local 9 Michigan field representative, Saline, Michigan
Tom McQuaid, BAC Local 1 DC, MONA secretary, treasurer, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Steve Martini, IMI Strategic Programs director, Cascade, Maryland
Steve Mason, terrazzo apprentice, Washington, D.C.
Antoine Matthews, bricklayer, Baltimore, Maryland
Michael Menegazzi, IMI terrazzo instructor, South Gate, California
Bob Mion, IMI tile, marble, and terrazzo instructor, Binghamton, New York
Guillermo Moreno, stone mason, Hyattsville, Maryland
Colleen Muldoon, coordinator of Education Programs, bricklayer, Baltimore, Maryland
Clarence Nichols, IMI deputy director of Apprenticeship and Training, Cumberland, Maryland
Angela Olszewski, tile layer, Jersey City, New Jersey
Lester Parnell, bricklayer, Detroit, Michigan
Bob Perry, IMI regional director, Culver City, California
Darren Raines, tile layer, Chicago, Illinois
Matthew Redabaugh, IMI coordinator of Special Projects, Cascade, Maryland
Butch Rovder, BAC stone craft director, South Riding, Virginia
Joe Stewart, BAC pointing, cleaning, and caulking craft director, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Gene Stinner, IMI director of Apprenticeship and Training, Cascade, Maryland
Dennis Studley, IMI Job Corps regional director, Yucaipa, California
Harold Sugg, refractory bricklayer, West Seneca, New York
Jimmy Ternent, marble mason, Westminster, Maryland
John Totten, IMI plaster instructor, Clintondale, New York
Drew Vecchione, IMI stone instructor, Flourtown, Pennsylvania
Battista Yon, bricklayer, Hyattsville, Maryland
Collection Restrictions:
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 2001 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Music and Crafts of the Southeastern United States
Collection Creator:
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Introduction:
Virtually every area of the South harbors a potter, weaver, toy maker, wood-carver, boatbuilder, calligrapher, ornamental blacksmith, sign painter, or seamstress who has maintained his or her craft in the face of nearly total indifference by the outside world. It is true, certainly, that many southern craftworkers have discarded quilt making, coverlet weaving, and pottery turning as unpleasant reminders of their humble origins. For others, the crafts remain a beloved preoccupation that, like family reunions and music festivals, have grown to symbolize an important component of regional and ethnic identity.
There are few generalizations that can be made about contemporary southern craftworkers as a group. Some are articulate about their work while others are inexpressive. Some practice crafts originally restricted to only one sex and passed from parent to child through an informal apprenticeship while others have not been so constrained. Many find monetary benefit in what they do; a few such as the solitary carver or painter work to some inner purpose largely devoid (until the coming of the folk art collector) of remunerative value. While some folk craftworkers employ modern labor and timesaving techniques, in every case they blend these with the preindustrial technologies of earlier generations. Such technologies, as well as the forms of the objects themselves, are the product of family and regional folk traditions.
The craft component at the 1981 Festival had three subdivisions:
1. a demonstration area where craftworkers were explaining their work; traditional Southeastern music - played, in part, on instruments made by the demonstrators - was also featured;
2. an exhibition of carefully-selected items commissioned specifically for the Festival and reminiscent of forms and styles made by the craftworkers' forebears; these objects were later sold at auction;
3. a general sales tent, planned with the Smithsonian Museum Shops, where an array of traditional crafts made for the Festival were on sale daily.
Secretary S. Dillon Ripley, in commenting on a previous Festival, noted: "The possibility of using a museum that is essentially a historical documentary museum as a theatre of live performance where people actually show that the objects in the cases were made by human hands, and are still being made, practiced on, worked with, is a very valuable asset for our role as a preserver and conservator of living cultural forms." Indeed, many of the objects crafted, exhibited, and sold at the 1981 Festival were very similar to items on view in the Museum. In fact, some of the objects in the permanent collections were purchased from Festival craftworkers in the late 1960s.
Participants:
Participants
David Allen, 1925-, walking stick carver, Homer, Louisiana
Linda Bowers, Seminole jacket maker, Clewiston, Florida
Charles Christian, chair maker, Mt. Judea, Arkansas
Louise Jones, baskets, Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina
Floyd Harmon, baskets, Ocean City, Maryland
Goodwin Family Weavers, Blowing Rock, North Carolina
Pecolia Warner, quilt, Yazoo City, Mississippi
Ora Watson, 1909-2004, quilts, Watauga County, North Carolina
Linda Bowers, Seminole jacket, Clewiston, Florida
Sally Tommie, Seminole jacket, Clewiston, Florida
Philip Simmons, 1912-, metal work, Charleston, South Carolina
Phipps Bourne, metal work, Elk Creek, Virginia
Erwin Thieberger, 1908-1997, metal work, Wheaton, Maryland
James Barnwell, metal work, Henderson County, North Carolina
Pete Howell, 1902-1981, metal work, Yancey County, North Carolina
Collection Restrictions:
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1981 Festival of American Folklife, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Introduction:
The first week of the 1975 Regional America program focused on the people of the Northern Plains (North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas), particularly on the occupational life-styles related to agriculture and livestock. This is the region that is called the "breadbasket" and the economy of the area is based on grain crops, feed crops, and livestock production. The Smithsonian represented the agriculture of the area by growing on the Festival site wheat (the principal grain crop), alfalfa (a principal feed crop), and some typical plains grasses as well as sorghum and sunflowers. Livestock grazed on the National Mall and were used in demonstrations of herding techniques. Visitors saw varieties of threshing from individual manual techniques to modern mechanical combines. A daily tractor pull contest demonstrated not only the skills of the farmers in operating equipment, but also the pride they take in the power of their own carefully maintained machinery.
Craft presentations included associated occupational and domestic crafts. For example, livestock-related crafts such as those involved with maintenance, auctioneering, leatherworking, blacksmithing, wagon making and repair, and metal working were highlighted, as well as key occupational skills related to livestock include horse handling, sheep shearing, and ropework. Functional but decorative domestic crafts were also demonstrated: piece quilts, braided and rag rugs, corn husk and rag dolls, toys carved from chips, noisemakers, whimmy diddles.
Festival visitors could see and participate in a variety of folk dancing by different ethnic groups who settled in the Plains: Germans, Scandinavians, Ukrainians and Czechs. Northern Plains music is characteristically performed on instruments practiced in isolation such as the fiddle.These are usually played solo, but at the Festival they were also performed in combination.
The character of the California Heartland region (second week of the Festival) is expressed by its flamboyant image, diverse landscape, and - of utmost importance - a 'Mediterranean' climate that makes outdoor living possible. It is also an area rich in ethnic communities, and many of these were featured at the 1975 Festival.
Mexican American muralists from East Los Angeles completed a mural depicting their contribution to the Festival. Paper flower making and piñata making were demonstrated and taught to visitors, as were masa grinding and tortilla and tamale making. Chinese Americans from the San Francisco area performed a shadow puppet play twice daily. Various crafts including kite-making and the construction of paper ribbon fish welcomed audience participation. Three traditional games (an early form of yoyo, shuttlecock and cat's cradle) were demonstrated and taught.
Portuguese American fisherfolk demonstrated boat building as well as net and lure making accompanied by traditional sea chanteys. A highlight of the Portuguese community is the "Festa da Espiritu Santu", a celebration involving a parade of decorated cows, ceremonial milking, a milk and bread feast and a traditional contest between solo singers who improvise verses, enacted on the Festival site from July 2 to 4.
Unique to San Francisco is the tradition of cable car bell ringing. Cable car gripmen announced each session at the main California stage and dance floor, and competed for the bell ringing championship. A Greek father and son demonstrated traditional woven straw beehive construction and discussed bee-keeping and the agricultural use of bees. California Armenians wove rugs and spun wool.
The joys of sociable dancing were shared by square dances, Portuguese chamaritas, Phillippine tinakling and an evening of waltzes. There were also examples of solo singing by Portuguese, Anglo, French, and black singers and group singing by Molokans, Anglos, Chicanos and blacks.
Administrator for the Regional America program was William K. McNeil, with Charles Camp as Research Coordinator; Rayna Green served as Consultant.
Fieldworkers:
Northern Plains Researchers
Metha Bercier, John Carter, Carey Cook, Larry Danielson, Sister Stephanie Dolyniuk, Karen Heinzman, Lynn Ireland, Constance Kane, Jens Lund, Janet McDonnell, Gina Newbold, Douglas Parks, Marjorie Sackett, Earl Sampson, Darrel Sawyer, Dorothy Shonsey, Scott Sorensen, Kenneth Stewart, Sherry Stoskopf, Robert Thompson, Robert Webb
California Research Staff
Coordinator: Bess Lomax Hawes; Assistant Coordinator: Barbara LaPan Rahm; Researchers: Justin Bishop, Joyce P. Bynum, Nicola Marguerite Deval, Nicholas Hawes, Michael Korn, Marilyn Salvador, Daniel Sheehy; Advisors: Stephen P. and Ethel Dunn (Molokan presentation), Elaine Miller (Mexican American presentation), Joanne B. Purcell (Portuguese presentation)
Participants:
Northern Plains
Margaret Anderson, 1900-2002, singer, cook, Scandia, Kansas
August Anheluk, 1917-2001, musician
Leslie Anheluk, dancer
James Baker, dancer
Emerson Baker, singer
Norman Baker, singer
Wade Baker, dancer
Donna Baranko, dancer
Ann Basaraba, singer
Roy Basaraba, singer
Lydia Bears Tail, bead worker, cook & dancer
Saunders Bears Tail, 1934-1998, dancer
Linnea B. Briggs, 1893-1990, bobbin lace maker, Windom, Kansas
Connie Burian, dancer
Laudie Burian, 1915-2001, musician
Lewis Calwell, 1895-1978, horse trainer, Belle Fourche, South Dakota
Alvin Campbell, 1921-, fiddler, Omaha, Nebraska
Marlys Ciscar, singer
George Crow Flies High, agricultural implement maker, dancer
Dan Dasovich, musician, Omaha, Nebraska
Danny Dasovich, musician, Omaha, Nebraska
George Dasovich, 1942-, musician, Omaha, Nebraska
Peter Drakulich, 1926-1998, musician
Frances Driver, Jr., dancer
Harold C. Edwards, 1927-1992, sheep shearer, Edgemont, South Dakota
Jeanette Evoniuk, 1923-2005, dancer
Johnnie Evoniuk, dancer
Laurence Evoniuk, singer
Matt Evoniuk, dancer
Matt Evoniuk, Jr., dancer
Pearl Evoniuk, dancer
Celia Fliginger, 1907-2003, cook, Freeman, South Dakota
Jarle Foss, 1894-1992, fiddler, Scotland, South Dakota
Robert Ernest Lee Jeffery, 1915-1976, blues pianist, San Diego, California
Kate Kalpakoff, Molokan singer
Craig Ernest Kodros, bee hive maker
George Harry Kodros, bee hive maker
Anna Koh, northern Chinese cook
David Koh, assistant northern Chinese cook
Jim A. Korneff, 1916-1994, singer
Julia Lazar, baker, spinner
Robert Lazar, dancer
Calvin E. Long, tinker, San Diego, California
Pauline Loo, Chinese craft assistant
Francisco Macias, charro
Eddie Martinez, muralist, Hacienda Heights, California
Heli Medeiros, 1921-2003, singer
Nellie Melosardoff, 1913-2007, Molokan singer
Anna Mendrin, Molokan singer
John Mendrin, 1923-1989, Molokan singer
Jonnie Kay Neavill, fiddler
David Page, uilleann bagpiper
Sara J. Patapoff, 1924-1993, Molokan singer
Jack Pavloff, 1919-2000, Molokan singers' director
Mary J. Pavloff, Molokan singer
Dolores Pequeño, singer
George M. Prohroff, 1937-2001, Molokan singer
Pamella Ramsing, shadow player
Rigoberto Rincon, charro, president of La Alteña
Victor Romero, -- guitarrista -- , -- vihuelo
Juanita Saludado, singer, Earlimart, California
Paul Saludado, singer, guitarist, Earlimart, California
Roy J. Samarin, 1920-1994, Molokan singer
Don Jesus Sanchez, 1910-1983, violinist, Los Angeles, California
Surma D'Mar Shimun, 1883-1975, dancer
Joel Silva, -- festa -- coordinator, dairyman
Jose V. Silva, tuna boat designer
Manuel Silva, -- guitarrista
Mary Silva, cook, flower maker
Julia Silveira, -- guitarrista
Rafael Furtado Simas, 1916-2006, violinist
Rosa Maria Simas, dancer, baker
João Soares, singer
Shirley Sun, presenter
Araks Talbert, baker, spinner
Anna Tarnoff, Molokan singer
Smith Tester, banjo player
Eugene Ung, assistant southern Chinese cook
Maizie Ung, kite making, paper folding, ribbon fish demonstration
Agostinho Valim, 1917-2000, singer
Laurindo Valim, dancer
Manuel Vasquez, 1935-, -- requintero
Moses A. Volkoff, 1892-1989, Molokan composer
Ossie White, guitarist, Lakewood, California
Roscoe White, 1923-2009, fiddler, Lakewood, California
Margaret L. Wong, southern Chinese cook
Judy Woo, assistant shadow player
Jesse Wright, singer
Jimmy Wright, singer, Fresno, California
Walter Wright, singer, Fresno, California
William Wright, 1914-1982, singer, Selma, California
Annie Zolnekoff, 1924-2010, Molokan singer
Paul Zolnekoff, 1919-2005, Molokan singer
Collection Restrictions:
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1975 Festival of American Folklife, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Use of archival audiovisual recordings and electronic records with no duplicate access copy requires advance notice.
Collection Rights:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Collection Citation:
Reginald Gammon papers, 1927-2007, bulk 1960-2005. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Sponsor:
Funding for the digitization of this collection was provided by The Walton Family Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art.
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Introduction:
Based on research in the rich and dynamic living culture of the border, the Borderlands Festival program of 1993 was designed to provide a glimpse of the border - its histories, its diverse communities, local and regional identities, and its music, arts, crafts, healing practices, foodways, and narrative. The program was about community-based culture. It presented cultural practices found on the border and cultural expressions about the border, and it explored cultural patterns that were created by the border. It also addressed the cultural heritage, adaptability, and creativity of Native Americans and of the Mexican, Hispanic American, Anglo, and other immigrant communities that have played a part in creating the life that surrounds the Mexico-U.S. border - those who maintain it, those who cross it, those who are left behind, and those who dwell in the border region. The program explored the processes through which such groups create, adapt, and preserve culture to meet the challenges of life on the border. It sought to present and understand community codes of behavior that evolved on the border including confrontation, evasion, violence, and romance, especially as these have been transformed into narrative and other forms of artistic expression.
Music performances at the Festival included emergent forms such as the conjunto, which grew out of the interaction between different cultural communities; older forms, such as the corrido, which has been used to preserve a historical vision in the defense of disputed territory; and adapted forms such as the string band music now incorporated into the traditional repertoire of the Tohono O'odham Native American communities. Also featured in the program were five muralists, whose work reflects the traditions of Mexican cholo and United States Chicano muralism. Murals continue to be touchstones of common historical experiences, archaeologies of sociocultural movements, and powerful statements of identity, ethical principles, and community aspirations. The unique fusion of border aesthetics and handcrafted technology was embodied for Festival visitors in lowriders - distinctively customized automobiles. These lowslung, hopping cars complemented the iconography of murals as statements of cultural identity.
Vaqueros of south Texas demonstrated their skills, crafts, and foodways associated with their cowboy tradition, which dates back to the Spanish colonial era. A fisherman from the port of Brownsville demonstrated shrimping techniques. A Laredo blacksmith forged stirrups, belt buckles, and other implements of vaquero life, along with a number of traditional and contemporary decorative objects. A ropemaker demonstrated the use of the local fiber called lechuguilla (a fibrous plant of the agave family). While fine craft traditions like guitar- and furniture-making are not specific to the border, craftspeople have incorporated motifs and instruments native to the region, like the bajo sexto guitar. Other occupational groups characteristic of the border environment included federal Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) agents who regulate movement across the border; coyotes and polleros, who help migrants evade immigration regulations; and workers in maquiladora assembly line industried. Narrative sessions focused on the culture of craft and occupation in the context of the border.
Artisans also demonstrated crafts used in the home and for special celebrations, including quilt-making, flower- and piñata-making, candlemaking, and reverse-painted glass. Participants prepared regional specialties, traditional foods served for fiestas, and offered a sampling of typical vaquero outdoor cooking. Finally, the Festival presented members of the Mixteco Indian community in Tijuana, a recent migrant group, which preserves its cultural identity and contributes to the economy at the border by maintaining ties with other Mixteco communities in Oaxaca and California.
The United States-Mexico border has had a profound effect on the lives of millions of people. The then-pending NAFTA free trade agreement was only the latest in a long line of international socioeconomic arrangements with wide ranging local impacts. Critical attention in Mexico and the U.S. had increasingly focused on the historical consciousness created in this borderland and on its expression in traditional and other forms of art. Recognition of the vitality and value of borderland culture was growing in 1993 at the margins, among borderland populations, as well as in the centers of power and opinion in both countries. Scholars and political leaders increasingly realized that the cultural encounters, syntheses, and resistances characteristic of border life signaled similar cultural developments in the larger societies. This intensifying concern and scrutiny centered on the margin, but could it reduce the marginality in human rights, social dignity, and economic opportunity at the border? Festival organizers hoped that listening to community voices of the border from the Mexican and United States sides could better inform our thinking and decision-making.
Olivia Cadaval served as Program Curator, with Peter Seitel as Research Advisor; Héctor Antonío Corporán was Program Coordinator and Betty Belanus was Presentation Coordinator.
Collaborating institutions included Centro de Información de Historia Regional, Universid Autónoma de Nuevo León; Consejo Nacional para las Culturas y las Artes – El Programa Cultural de las Fronteras; El Colegio de la Frontera Norte (COLEF); El Paso-Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Embajada de México en Washington, D.C.; John E. Conner Museum, Texas A & I University; Institute of Texan Cultures; Instituto Cultural de México; Instituto de Bellaas Artes del Estado de Baja California; Instituto Nacional Indigenista; Instituto Mexicano de Cultura, San Antonio; Laredo State University; Mexican Cultural Institute; Museo Regional de la Universidad Autónoma de Baja California en Mexicali; National Museum of the American Indian; New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico; Pimería Alta Historical Society, Arizona; Texas A & I University; Texas Folklife Resources; Tumacácori National Historical Park, Arizona; University of Arizona Library's Southwest Folklore Center; University of Arizona – Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology; University of New Mexico, Albuquerque; University of Texas – Brownsville; University of Texas, Center for Mexican-American Studies; University of Texas – Pan American; and U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.
United States-Mexico Borderlands was made possible with the support and collaboration of the Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes - El Programa Cultural de las Fronteras, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, Texas Commission on the Arts, Cerveza Tecate - Imported Beer, Texas Folklife Resources, University of Arizona Library's Western Folklore Center, Tumacácori National Historical Park, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo Léon - Centro de Información de Historia Regional, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Gubierno de Nuevo Léon, Mexican Cultural Institute, and the recording industries Music Performance Trust Funds.
Fieldworkers:
María Eugenia de la O, Enrique Madrid, Angel Norzagaray Norzagaray, Manuel Peña, Kathy Raglan, Michael James Ritchie, Suzie Reyes, Irene Vásquez Valle, Kathy Vargas, Felipe de Jesús Valenzuela
Presenters and fieldworkers:
Enrique Avilés, Norma Cantú, Jessica Chapin, Andrew Connors, Maricela González Felix, Mary Lou Gortárez, Everardo Garduño, James S. Griffith, Celso Garza Guajardo, Ian F. Hancock, Pat Jasper, Enrique Lamadrid, Laura Larco, Francisco Javier Moreno, Daniel Sheehy, Emily Socolov, Michael C. Stone; José Manuel Valenzuela Arce, Meynardo Vásquez, Laura Velasco Ortíz, Thomas Vennum, Jr., Cynthia Vidaurri
Participants:
Tijuana, Baja California
Olga Lidia Cortés, Mixteca, hat and basket maker, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
José Luis Lee Sandoval, furniture maker, Tecate, Baja California, Mexico
Mexicali, Baja California
Taller Universitario de Teatro -- Taller Universitario de TeatroAngel Norzagaray Norzagaray, 1961-, Mexicali, Baja California, MexicoHeriberto B. Norzagaray Norzagaray, 1959-, Mexicali, Baja California, MexicoLoreto Ramón Tamayo Rosas, Mexicali, Baja California, MexicoAlejandra Rioseco de la Pena, Mexicali, Baja California, MexicoAndrés García Moreno, Mexicali, Baja California, MexicoPedro Gabriel González Castro, Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico
San Simon Village, Arizona
Tohono O'odham String Band -- Tohono O'odham String BandBlaine W. Juan, 1936-, violin, dancer, San Simon Village, ArizonaJoseph Alonzo García, 1924-, violin, dancer, San Simon Village, ArizonaFrank N. Pedro, 1928-, guitar, San Simon Village, ArizonaVictor Augustine García, 1922-, violin, San Simon Village, ArizonaNacho J. Feleys, 1909-1994, snare drum, San Simon Village, ArizonaMike L. Francisco, 1926-, bass drum, dancer, San Simon Village, Arizona
Lupe Lopez, 1927-, Tohono O'odham basket maker, San Simon Village, Arizona
Marie Leon, 1930-, Tohono O'odham basket maker, San Simon Village, Arizona
Nogales, Sonora
Maria Gloria Moroyoqui de Roques, 1930-, Yaqui cook, piñata and flower maker, herbalist, Nogales, Sonora, Mexico
Imuris, Sonora
Anastasio Léon, birdcage and frame maker, Imuris, Sonora, Mexico
Francisco Silva, birdcage and frame maker, Imuris, Sonora, Mexico
Magdalena, Sonora
Felipe de Jesús Valenzuela, regional historian, Magdalena, Sonora, Mexico
Tumacácori, Arizona
María Rodríguez, 1912-2001, tortilla maker, flower maker, cook, Tumacácori, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Reynaldo B. Hernandez, INS border patrol, storyteller, Tucson, Arizona
Los Hermanos Cuatro, Yaqui Norteño Band -- Los Hermanos Cuatro, Yaqui Norteño BandJesús Juan Yucupicio, 1965-, electric bass, Tucson, ArizonaAlbert M. Yucupicio, 1954-, accordion, Tucson, ArizonaAngel M. Yucupicio, 1966-, drums, Tucson, ArizonaPeter S. Yucupicio, 1957-, bajo sexto, Tucson, Arizona
Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua
Brigada por La Paz -- Brigada por La PazAlonso Encina Herrera, 1968-, muralist, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, MexicoJesús Alberto "Pee Wee" Rodriguez Medina, muralist, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, MexicoGustavo "Sleepy" Grado Tiscareño, 1973-, muralist, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, MexicoMiguel Angel "El Tandy" Sandoval Lira, 1971-, muralist, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico
Oscar Ramírez, 1944-, guitar maker, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico
Los Alegres del Norte, norteño band -- Los Alegres del Norte, norteño bandJosé Flores Cordova, accordion, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, MexicoDiego Hidalgo Alvarez, 1944-, bajo sexto, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, MexicoEmilio Chaírez Muñoz, tololoche, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico
El Paso, Texas
Agustín Castillo, 1950-, woodcarver, furniture maker, El Paso, Texas
Carlos Callejo, Chicano muralist, El Paso, Texas
Romulo Frías, lowrider, El Paso, Texas
El Divisidero, Chihuahua
Guadalupe Carrasco Leyva, 1923-, quilter, cook, El Divisidero, Chihuahua, Mexico
Ethel I. Warrior, 1919-, oral historian, cook, Del Rio, Texas
William F. Warrior, 1927-, oral historian, storyteller, Del Rio, Texas
Laredo, Texas
Armando Flores, 1953-, blacksmith, Laredo, Texas
María Paredes de Solís, 1923-, quilter, Laredo, Texas
Monterrey, Mexico
El Palomo y el Gorrión, Norteño Band -- El Palomo y el Gorrión, Norteño BandMiguel "El Gorrión" Luna Franco, 1948-, drums, composer, vocals, Monterrey, MexicoMoisés García, guitar, Monterrey, Mexico
Joe O. Mendietta, 1961-, vaquero, horsehair braider, Kingsville, Texas
San Diego, Texas
Canuto Soliz, 1924-2006, vaquero, leatherworker, storyteller, guitarist, San Diego, Texas
Elsa, Texas
Los Hermanos Layton, Conjunto Band -- Los Hermanos Layton, Conjunto BandAntonio V. Layton, 1946-, guitar, vocals, Elsa, TexasRené Layton, drums, Elsa, TexasNorfilia Layton González, vocals, Elsa, TexasGilbert González, bass guitar, Elsa, TexasBenigno Layton, 1950-, accordion, vocals, Elsa, Texas
Brownsville, Texas
Julius Collins, 1928-, shrimper, net maker, cook, Brownsville, Texas
Collection Restrictions:
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1993 Festival of American Folklife, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1988 Festival of American Folklife, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Introduction:
On July 3, 1982, the Festival hosted a ceremony awarding the first annual National Heritage Fellowships. These honors, organized and funded by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), were awarded to traditional musicians and craftspersons who have made outstanding contributions to the cultural life of our nation. Complementing the award ceremony, the Festival presented a series of daily tribute concerts to demonstrate respect and esteem for the talent, vision, and application of the recipients. In addition, an exhibition of crafts by Fellows was shown in the National Museum of American History through August 1982.
Being host to an extraordinary number of human beings from different parts of the world, we in the United States are thereby hosts to an extraordinary number of matured and developed artistic and technical traditions. It is this that the Folk Arts Program of the NEA celebrates through its National Heritage Fellowships. Each year, beginning in 1982, NEA intended to greet, salute, and honor a few examples of the dazzling array of artistic traditions inherited throughout our nation's fortunate history. Each year, another assortment of splendid master American folk artists and artisans representing still different artistic forms and traditions would be presented. The hope and belief was that this could continue far into the future, each year's group of artists demonstrating yet other distinctive art forms from the American experience.
The fifteen master traditional artists honored with the 1982 National Heritage Fellowships had each taken their respective art form to a new height. Many were old friends of the Festival, often having been invited to participate in its earlier years. Each one built upon the inventions, the perfected techniques, the aesthetic experiments of countless artists in the same tradition who had gone on before - singers, musicians, and artisans whose names we will never know. In honoring the recipients of the National Heritage Fellowships in 1982, NEA honored their artistic forebears as well. It is this, perhaps, that truly distinguished these awards - that in the persons of these outstanding individuals we can honor an entire tradition and the long line of earlier artists who have helped invent the many folk art forms that grace our land and our people.
Marjorie Hunt, Heritage Program Coordinator
Participants:
Fellowships Recipients
Dewey Balfa, Cajun fiddler, Basile, Louisiana
Joe Heaney, 1919-1984, Irish ballad singer, Seattle, Washington
Tommy Jarrell, Appalachian fiddler, Mt. Airy, North Carolina
Bessie Jones, 1902-1984, Georgia Sea Island Singer, Brunswick, Georgia
George Lopez, Hispanic woodcarver, Cordova, New Mexico
Brownie McGhee, 1915-1996, blues musician, Oakland, California
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1982 Festival of American Folklife, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
Smithsonian Institution. Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Introduction:
From the State of Michigan, ninety of its residents came to the 1987 Festival to speak about and demonstrate some of the rich traditional culture from that region. To help create a festival setting in which performers of valued traditions could speak about their experiences and heritages with performed music, active demonstrations, and spoken words seemed a most appropriate way to celebrate the sesquicentennial of that geographically endowed, historically important and culturally rich state.
Throughout Michigan's history those who migrated to the state have been drawn by - or have themselves introduced - fishing, trapping, mining, lumbering, farming, and automobile manufacturing. The lore of such occupations, combined with the rich ethnic heritage of those who built Michigan, form the essence of the state's traditional culture. Michigan today is home to more than one hundred different nationalities, including the country's largest population of Finns, Belgians, Maltese, and Chaldeans; the second largest numbers of Dutch, Lebanese, and French Canadians; and perhaps the largest concentration of Muslim Arabs (in southeast Dearborn) outside the Middle East. Detroit alone is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the country. The heritage of these diverse groups - along with those of Native, Euro Americans, and Afro Americans who migrated to Michigan throughout the state's history - give Michigan folklife its distinctive characteristics.
Complementing a full performance schedule that highlighted Michigan's diverse musical heritage, ongoing demonstrations included lure making, fly tying, boat building, Native American quillwork, black ash basketry, finger weaving and beadwork, Dutch wooden shoe making, furniture carving, Afro American quilt making, Palestinian needlework, Ukrainian textiles and egg decorating, ski and sleigh making, decoy carving, rag rug weaving, cherry harvesting & pruning, evergreen nursery techniques, net making, and ice fishing.
Betty Belanus, Laurie Sommers, and Thomas Vennum, Jr. served as Curators for the Michigan program, with Laurie Sommers also serving as Program Coordinator and Barbara Lau, as Assistant Program Coordinator.
The Michigan Program was made possible by the Michigan Sesquicentennial Commission and the Michigan Department of State.
Fieldworkers and consultants:
Fieldworkers
Dennis Au, Michael Bell, Horace Boyer, John Alan Cicala, Timothy Cochrane, Gregory Cooper, C. Kurt Dewhurst, Stev'e Frangos, Roland Freeman, Janet Gilmore, Alicia María González, James Leary, Yvonne Lockwood, Marsha MacDowell, Phyllis M. May-Machunda, Mario Montaño, Earl Nyholm, Marsha Penti, Roger Pilon, Peter Seitel, Eliot Singer, Laurie Sommers, Nicholas R. Spitzer, Thomas Vennum, Jr.
Consultants
George Cornell, LuAnne Kozma, Robert McCarl, Oscar Paskal, Barry Lee Pearson, Joseph Spielberg
Presenters:
Dennis Au, Horace Boyer, C. Kurt Dewhurst, Paul Gifford, Janet Gilmore, James Leary, William Lockwood, Yvonne Lockwood, Marsha MacDowell, Earl Nyholm, Mario Montaño, Roger Pilon, Joseph Spielberg, Nicholas R. Spitzer, Benjamin Wilson
Sensational Gospel Tones -- Sensational Gospel TonesAlfred Charleston, Grand Rapids, MichiganDonald Charleston, lead guitar and bass player, Grand Rapids, MichiganJuanita Charleston, Grand Rapids, MichiganRev. Leon Charleston, Grand Rapids, MichiganHenrietta Fields, Grand Rapids, MichiganTanya Johnson, vocalist, drummer, Grand Rapids, MichiganNathaniel Smith, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Sugar Island Boys, Anglo-French string band -- Sugar Island Boys, Anglo-French string bandRené Coté, fiddle player, Ontario, CanadaHoney McCoy, 1904-1988, piano player, vocalist, Sault Ste. Marie, MichiganJoe Menard, 1935-, guitar player, vocalist, Sault Ste. Marie, MichiganTom Stevens, Dobro player, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Bill Stimac & Sons, music from the Keweenaw Peninsula -- Bill Stimac & Sons, music from the Keweenaw PeninsulaBill Stimac, 1923-, accordion player, Houghton, MichiganMark Stimac, 1956-, banjo and guitar player, Houghton, MichiganRandy Stimac, 1958-, accordion player, Houghton, Michigan
Thimbleberry, Finnish music -- Thimbleberry, Finnish musicEd Lauluma, 1921-2005, fiddle player, Chassell, MichiganAl Reko, 1933-, accordion player, vocalist, St. Paul, Minnesota, MichiganOren Tikkanen, mandolin and guitar player, Calumet, Michigan
Yemeni Folkloric Dance Group, Arab village music -- Yemeni Folkloric Dance Group, Arab village musicSaleh Alward, dancer, Dearborn, MichiganMohsin Elgabri, dramatist, dancer, Oud player, Dearborn, MichiganAlsanabani Faris, dancer, Dearborn, MichiganSaeed Masjahri, dancer, Dearborn, MichiganM. Aideroos Mohsen, dancer, Dearborn, MichiganAbdo Ali Saeed, dancer, Dearborn, MichiganOmar A. Wahashi, oud and tabla player, Dearborn, Michigan
Rose Mae Menard, 1901-1988, come¬dienne, storyteller, herbalist, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Art Moilanen, 1916-1995, vocalist, accordion player, Mass City, Michigan
Les Raber, fiddle player, Hastings, Michigan
Isaiah "Dr." Ross, 1925-1993, blues musician, Flint, Michigan
Occupations
Esperanza Alcala, ever¬green nursery worker, Grand Haven, Michigan
Steven B. Fouch, 1952-, cherry grower, extension agent, Grawn, Michigan
Elias Lopez, 1935-2004, evergreen nursery worker, Grand Haven, Michigan
Damien Lunning, trapper, Mio, Michigan
Judith Lunning, trapper, game cook, Mio, Michigan
Pedro Rodriguez, ever¬green nursery worker, Grand Haven, Michigan
Personal Experience Narrative, Flint Sit-Down Strike
Fred Ahearn, 1910-1991, Flint, Michigan
Burt Christenson, Flint, Michigan
Shirley Foster, Flint, Michigan
Berdene "Bud" Simons, Newport Richey, Florida
Nellie Simons, Newport Richey, Florida
Waterways
Josephine F. Sedlecky-Borsum, sports shop owner, fly tier, Baldwin, Michigan
Ray Davison, Great Lakes fisherman, Menominee, Michigan
Dick Grabowski, 1931-2006, Great Lakes fisherman, Menominee, Michigan
Charlie Nylund, 1933-, Great Lakes fisherman, Menominee, Michigan
Jay Stephan, river guide, boat builder, Grayling, Michigan
Elman G. "Bud" Stewart, 1913-1999, lure maker, Alpena, Michigan
Jim Wicks, ice fisherman, decoy carver, McMillan, Michigan
Ralph Wilcox, Great Lakes fisherman, fish smoker, Brimley, Michigan
David Wyss, river guide, boat builder, fly tier, Grayling, Michigan
Collection Restrictions:
Access to the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections is by appointment only. Visit our website for more information on scheduling a visit or making a digitization request. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies.
Collection Rights:
Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections. Please visit our website to learn more about submitting a request. The Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections make no guarantees concerning copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Other usage conditions may apply; please see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for more information.
Collection Citation:
Smithsonian Folklife Festival records: 1987 Festival of American Folklife, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
